1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a computer system and control method thereof and, more particularly, to a computer system and control method thereof that receives an operating electric power to perform communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, it is very important to decrease electric power consumption in computer systems, such as desktops and notebooks. Especially in portable computer systems such as notebooks, where power is limited by a battery of restricted capacity, reduction of power consumption is a subject of still more importance.
In many cases, the computer system performs communication (hereinafter referred to as “network communication”) with an external apparatus, such as a web server, through the network. To perform the network communication, the computer system is provided with a communication unit, such as a network card or network chip. The communication unit of the computer system receives power and consumes the power depending on the communication operation being performed (if any).
In conventional technology, the communication unit is selectively disabled according to whether a network cable is connected to the computer system or not, thus decreasing power consumption generated by the communication operation of the communication unit. However, according to the conventional technology, if the communication unit is to be used, for example, if the user wants to use a communication function such as e-mail or others known in the art, the disconnected network cable has to be connected to the computer system each time. In addition, after finishing the communication function, the network cable has to be separated from the computer system.
Accordingly such a process causes much inconvenience to the user, and components of a connecting part may be damaged when the network cable is connected to or disconnected from the computer system.